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NZCFS Christchurch Branch Newsletter – March 2017

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Next Meeting – 30 th March 2017

At the last minute Mayor Donna Favel of Ashburton was unable to be our February meeting speaker, so Eric Livingstone kindly stepped in and spoke on the life of Rewi Alley.

Donna has agreed to fill the March slot. She graduated from Ashburton College and later went to live in Australia.

She returned to Ashburton in 1997 and bought the Regent Cinema which she and husband David run as a seven days a week operation.

In 2010, Donna ran for Ashburton District Council so she could advocate for her community, and in the latest election she successfully stood as a mayoral candidate.

As Ashburton has a rapidly growing multicultural population, Donna is very keen to see all the various ethnic groups represented by the Ashburton District Council. She wants to see her community benefit from the diverse cultural richness these groups bring to Ashburton. Donna is a strong supporter of the local Chinese people, many of whom are descended from the earliest Chinese settlers in New Zealand. She will speak at our meeting about the Chinese Village in Ashburton.


Member News

A warm welcome to new members Kumara Residents Trust, Angel Hu and Peter Jackson, Gregory McPhail and Graeme and Gwynneth Tinkler.


Annual General Meeting and new Committee

At the recent branch AGM, the branch President welcomed some new faces onto the committee and thanked those who had decided not to stand again for their good work and support. Bill Willmott stepped down as a Vice President and was given the title of Branch Honorary Patron, in recognition of his years of dedication to the society, and Michelle MacWilliam was appointed a Vice President. Please remember officer details are always at the bottom of our newsletters, so please don’t hesitate to contact one of them if you need some information or help.

 

Traditional embroidery

A 90 year old Dong woman in Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is highly skilled at embroidery, and generously teaches the handicraft to other women and children in the village. The Dong ethnic group is famous for its embroidery, which has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage. This picture here is just a taste; go into the website and see the others!

 

Thank you Ferry Van Mansum of the Nelson branch for this link.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/0224/c90000-9182327.html

 


Lantern Festival

1 000s of locals enjoyed this year’s bigger and better lantern festival – even though the weather wasn’t as kind as it could have been! The Saturday had to be cancelled in the end, but better weather brought the crowds out on Sunday.

Click the following link to view the sights and sounds of the amazing lanterns: http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NNu0yPkB-_Y9pS_cGp-A5Q

O ur branch had a stand, at which we showed Chinese videos, pictures of our activities, gave away balloons and taught children a few words of Chinese. And to top it off, we signed up three new members, one of whom, Graeme Tinkler, is now a committee member!!

A highlight of the festival was the Wuhan bell, which was given to Christchurch by its sister city of Wuhan several years ago. It had been on display in a public area of the old council building in Tuam Street, but its frame collapsed during the February 2011 earthquake, and it has been in storage since. However, a handsome new frame was made in Wuhan and received recently, so the Christchurch China Sister Cities committee was very happy to have it on display for all to see – and to ring! For two dollars visitors could buy a small bell, and ring the real one! Amazingly, by the end of the weekend the committee had raised $1000, which it will put towards its activities.

Sister cities committee Chair Bernard Duncan and deputy chair Michelle MacWilliam show how it’s done (right)

Click on the following link to view more photos. If you click the triangle 音乐 on top left of the first photo, music will play while viewing. More pics can be seen by click arrow down.

https://www.meipian.cn/dm9jpr9?from=singlemessage

Thank you to Yang Qin for these images.

 

A Sad Departure 

Mr LI Xin (Nick) and his wife Isabel recently completed their three and a half year posting at the Consulate here in Christchurch, and are now off to their new posting in Jakarta. People he had worked with in the city gathered at the consulate to farewell him.

As Nick said ”Finally it is my time to say goodbye to Christchurch. Believe me, it is really difficult to bid farewell to such a beautiful city, to which my family has a special bond with.

I have promised to my daughter Penny that I will surely bring her back to this city, which is her birthplace and thus her second hometown”. Nick and Isabel were a pleasure to work with, and while we are very happy for their future career, they are a loss to us.

 


Mandarin Corner

Questions and Answers to help you start a conversation with Chinese

Topic: Zodiac Signs

Q. 你属什么? (nǐ shǔ shén me?) What’s your year sign?

A. 我属。。。 (wǒ shǔ…)  My year sign is…

 (shǔ) Mouse

 (niú) Ox

 (hǔ) Tiger

 (tù) Rabbit

 (lóng) Dragon

 (shé) Snake

 (mǎ) Horse

 (yáng) Sheep

 (hóu) Monkey

 (jī) Rooster

 (gǒu) Dog

 (zhū) Pig


Ode to Rewi Alley

Jayson, the husband of previous Consul General Madam Tan Xiutian, is a very keen poet. He and Madam Tan live in Beijing now. In this important year, the 120th anniversary of the birth of Rewi Alley, he has written a poem to the great man.

艾黎

纪念路易·艾黎诞辰120周年

张继春

 

坎 区蓓蕾山丹开,

为我中华祈福来。

同舟共济六十年,

英名美誉传万代!

 

 

注:

路易·艾黎 ,中国人民的老朋友,1897年12月2日生于新西兰南岛坎特伯里地区的斯普林菲尔德镇,1987年12月27日在北京逝世,葬在甘肃省山丹县艾黎何克陵园。

一次大战期间,艾黎在新西兰第二远征军服役,两次负伤。回国后在北岛Taranaki山区牧场连续工作6年。1927年4月21日来到中国,发起工业合作社运动(简称工合),支援抗战;后创建培黎工艺学校,为新中国培养了一批能吃苦、讲实干的技术人才。

新 中国成立后,致力于维护世界和平与各国人民的友好事业,为发展中国人民同新西兰及各国人民间的友谊、增进各国人民对中国社会主义建设成就的了解,做出了重要贡献,赢得了中新两国人民和广大国际友人的尊敬和爱戴。惠灵顿维多利亚大学授其文学荣誉博士学位;85岁和88岁寿辰时分别获得北京市“荣誉市民”和甘肃省“荣誉公民”称号;1984年新西兰政府授其女王社会服务勋章。多次受到毛泽东、周恩来、宋庆龄、邓颖超等党和国家领导人接见。逝世时邓小平为其题词:伟大的国际主义战士永垂不朽。

2009年12月,在中国国际广播电台、中国人民对外友好协会、国家外国专家局主办的“新中国成立前后百年间对中国贡献最大、最受中国人民爱戴或与中国缘分最深的外国友人”评选活动中,被评为“中国缘·十大国际友人”。

O n Rewi Alley’s 120th Birthday

By Jayson Zhang

 

The Canterbury bud came to blossom

in remote Shandan.

So unique is its beauty,

to compare with it nothing can!

Rewi Alley, with 60 years commitment,

made himself a real man.

While his body is now part of the heroic land,

his spirit has become

a shining everlasting brand.

And behind the friendship cause he pioneered

generations to come

will firmly stand!

 

Ross Chinese Miners Memorial Reserve Update

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism the Honourable Paula Bennett was recently in Ross on the West Coast on police and freedom campers business, so local Biddy Manera, who is involved in developing the Chinese reserve there did not pass up the chance to ask her to come and see the site for the reserve.

Due to the continual inclement weather and weather bombs over the last seven weeks, the project has been delayed, due to the unavailability of the machinery operator, who is behind schedule through having to cope with road slips and erosion. Once completed, he will then be available to begin the project.